Neither the cormorant,
black slick oily unflappable

nor the heron, long legs lifting body
from everyday rocks, elegance imbued

nor the solitary sunbasking turtle
mistaken for stone

nor even the water snake,
unseen until the bite

simply the loon, red-eyed, angry,
wailing wailing wailing at the moon.

Rachel Gaffin is a graduate of the University of Virginia's Area Program in Poetry Writing ('17). Her poetry and non-fiction have appeared in the Virginia Literary Review, Mockingbird, 3Elements Review, and Volume Poetry. She currently lives in Richmond, VA, where she is pursuing her Master's in Social Work.